The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac

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sufficient reasons to absent myself? He will, of course, understand that I ought not to explain under any circumstances the nature of the affair which has taken me out of the country at this unlucky time; but I am certain it will be all-sufficient if a man of Monsieur de l'Estorade's position and character guarantees the necessity of my absence.

I beg you to accept, madame, etc., etc.

As Madame de Camps finished reading the letter, the sound of acarriage entering the courtyard was heard.

"There are the gentlemen," said the countess. "Now, had I better showthis letter to my husband or not?"

"You can't avoid doing so," replied Madame de Camps. "In the firstplace, Nais will chatter about it. Besides, Monsieur de Sallenauveaddresses you in a most respectful manner, and there is nothing in theletter to feed your husband's notion."

"Who is that common-looking man I met on the stairs talking withNais?" said Monsieur de l'Estorade to his wife, as he entered thesalon.

As Madame de l'Estorade did not seem to understand him, he added,--

"He is pitted with the small-pox, and wears a maroon coat and shabbyhat."

"Oh!" said Madame de Camps, addressing her friend; "it must be the manwho was here just now. Nais has seized the occasion to inquire abouther idol."

"But who is he?" repeated Monsieur de l'Estorade.

"I think his name is Bricheteau; he is a friend of Monsieur deSallenauve," replied Madame de Camps.

Seeing the cloud on her husband's brow, Madame de l'Estorade hastenedto explain the double object of the organist's visit, and she gave himthe letter of the new deputy. While he was reading it, Madame del'Estorade said, aside, to Monsieur de Camps,--

"He seems to me much better, don't you think so?"

"Yes; there's scarcely a trace left of what we saw this morning. Hewas too wrought up about his work. Going out did him good; and yet hemet with a rather unpleasant surprise at Rastignac's."

"What was it?" asked Madame de l'Estorade, anxiously.

"It seems that the affairs of your friend Sallenauve are going wrong."

"Thanks for the commission!" said Monsieur de l'Estorade, returningthe letter to his wife. "I shall take very good care not to guaranteehis conduct in any respect."

"Have you heard anything disagreeable about him?" asked Madame del'Estorade, endeavoring to give a tone of indifference to herquestion.

"Yes; Rastignac has just told me of letters received from Arcis, wherethey have made the most compromising discoveries."

"Well, what did I tell you?" cried Madame de l'Estorade.

"How do you mean? What _did_ you tell me?"

"I told you some time ago that the acquaintance was one that hadbetter be allowed to die out. I remember using that very expression."

"But _I_ didn't draw him here."

"Well, you can't say that I did; and just now, before I knew of thesediscoveries you speak of, I was telling Madame de Camps of anotherreason why it was desirable to put an end to the acquaintance."

"Yes," said Madame de Camps, "your wife and I were just discussing, asyou came in, the sort of frenzy Nais has taken for what she calls her'preserver.' We agreed in thinking there might be future danger inthat direction."

"From all points of view," said Monsieur de l'Estorade, "it is anunwholesome acquaintance."

"It seems to me," said Monsieur de Camps, who was not in the secret ofthese opinions, "that you go too fast. They may have made what theycall compromising discoveries about Monsieur de Sallenauve; but whatis the value of those discoveries? Don't hang him till a verdict hasbeen rendered."

"My husband can do as he likes," said Madame de l'Estorade; "but asfor me, I shall drop the acquaintance at once. I want my friends tobe, like Caesar's wife, beyond suspicion."

"Mine?" she replied; "if I had my way, I should write to him and saythat he would do us a favor by not reappearing in our house. As thatwould be rather a difficult letter to write, let us write it together,if you are willing."

"We will see about it," said Monsieur de l'Estorade, brightening upunder this suggestion; "there's no danger in going slow. The mostpressing thing at this moment is the flower-show; I think it closes atfour o'clock; if so, we have only an hour before us."

Madame de l'Estorade, who had dressed before the arrival of Madame deCamps, rang for her maid to bring her a bonnet and shawl. While shewas putting them on before a mirror, her husband came up behind herand whispered in her ear,--

"Then you really love me, Renee?"

"Are you crazy, to ask me such a question as that?" she answered,looking at him affectionately.

"Well, then, I must make a confession: that letter, which Philippebrought--I read it."

"Then I am not surprised at the change in your looks and manner," saidhis wife. "I, too, will make you a confession: that letter to Monsieurde Sallenauve, giving him his dismissal,--I have written it; you willfind it in my blotting-book. If you think it will do, send it."

Quite beside himself with delight at finding his proposed successor soreadily sacrificed, Monsieur de l'Estorade did not control his joy;taking his wife in his arms, he kissed her effusively.

"This morning I was a fool," said the peer of France, hunting in theblotting-book for the letter, which he might have had the grace tobelieve in without seeing.

"Hush!" said Madame de Camps, in a low voice to her husband, toprevent further remarks. "I'll explain this queer performance to youby and by."

Rejuvenated by ten years at least, the peer of France offered his armto Madame de Camps, while the amateur iron-master offered his to thecountess.

"But Nais!" said Monsieur de l'Estorade, noticing the melancholy faceof his daughter, who was looking over the stairs at the party. "Isn'tshe going too?"

"No," said the countess; "I am displeased with her."

"Ah, bah!" said the father, "I proclaim an amnesty. Get your hat," headded, addressing his daughter.

Nais looked at her mother to obtain a ratification, which herknowledge of the hierarchy of power in that establishment made herjudge to be necessary.

"You can come," said her mother, "if your father wishes it."

While they waited in the antechamber for the child, Monsieur del'Estorade noticed that Lucas was standing up beside a half-finishedletter.

"Whom are you writing to?" he said to his old servant.

"To my son," replied Lucas, "who is very impatient to get hissergeant's stripes. I am telling him that Monsieur le comte haspromised to speak to his colonel for him."

"True, true," said the peer of France; "it slipped my memory. Remindme of it to-morrow morning, and I'll do it the first thing after I amup."

"Monsieur le comte is very good--"

"And here," continued his master, feeling in his waistcoat pocket, andproducing three gold pieces, "send that to the corporal, and tell himto drink a welcome to the stripes."

Lucas was stupefied. Never had he seen his master so expansive or sogenerous.

When Nais returned, Madame de l'Estorade, who had been admiringherself for her courage in showing displeasure to her daughter forhalf an hour, embraced her as if they were meeting after an absence oftwo years; after which they started for the Luxembourg, where in thosedays the Horticultural Society held its exhibitions.

VII

THE WAY TO MANAGE POLITICAL INTRIGUES

Toward the close of the audience given by the minister of Public Worksto Monsieur Octave de Camps, who was presented by the Comte del'Estorade, an usher entered the room, and gave the minister the cardof the attorney-general, Monsieur Vinet, and that of Monsieur Maximede Trailles.

"Very good," said Rastignac; "say to those gentlemen that I willreceive them in a few moments."

Shortly after, Monsieur de l'Estorade and Monsieur de Camps rose totake leave; and it was then that Rastignac very succinctly let thepeer know of the danger looming on the horizon of his friendSallenauve. Monsieur de l'Estorade exclaimed against the word_friend_.

"I don't know, my dear minister," he said, "why you insist on givingthat title to a man who is, really and truly, a mere acquaintance,and, I may add, a passing acquaintance, if the rumors you have justmentioned to us take actual shape."

"I am glad to hear you say that," said the minister, "because thefriendly relations which I supposed you to hold towards him would haveembarrassed me a good deal in the hostilities which I foresee mustbreak out between him and the government."

"Most grateful, I am sure, for that sentiment," replied the peer ofFrance; "but be kind enough to remember that I give you _carteblanche_. You are free to handle Monsieur de Sallenauve as yourpolitical enemy, without a moment's fear of troubling me."

Thereupon they parted, and Messieurs Vinet and de Trailles wereintroduced.

The attorney-general, Vinet, was the most devoted and the mostconsulted champion of the government among its various officials. In apossible reconstitution of the ministry he was obviously the candidatefor the portfolio of justice. Being thoroughly initiated into all thebusiness of that position, and versed in its secret dealings, nothingwas hatched in that department on which he was not consulted, if notactually engaged. The electoral matters of Arcis-sur-Aube had a doubleclaim to his interest, partly on account of his wife, a Chargeboeuf ofBrie, and a relative of the Cinq-Cygnes, but chiefly because of theoffice held by his son in the local administration. So that when,earlier in the morning, Monsieur de Trailles carried to Rastignac aletter from Madame Beauvisage, wife of the defeated governmentalcandidate, full of statements injurious to the new deputy, theminister had replied, without listening to any explanations,--

"See Vinet about it; and tell him, from me, to come here with you."

Notified by de Trailles, who offered to fetch him in his carriage,Vinet was ready enough to go to the minister; and now that we find thethree together in Rastignac's study, we shall be likely to obtain somebetter knowledge of the sort of danger hanging over Sallenauve's headthan we gained from Jacques Bricheteau's or Monsieur de l'Estorade'svery insufficient information.

"You say, my dear friends," said the minister, "that we can win a gameagainst that puritan, who seemed to me, when I met him at l'Estorade'slast evening, to be an out-and-out enemy to the government?"

Admitted to this interview without official character, Maxime deTrailles knew life too well to take upon himself to answer this query.The attorney-general, on the contrary, having a most exalted sense ofhis own political importance, did not miss the opportunity to puthimself forward.

"When Monsieur de Trailles communicated to me this morning a letterfrom Madame Beauvisage," he hastened to say, "I had just received onefrom my son, conveying to me very much the same information. I am ofMonsieur de Trailles' opinion, that the affair may become very seriousfor our adversary, provided, however, that it is well managed."

"I know, as yet, very little about the affair," remarked the minister."As I wished for your opinion in the first place, my dear Vinet, Irequested Monsieur de Trailles to postpone his explanation of itsdetails until you could be present at the discussion."

This time Maxime was plainly authorized and even required to speak,but again Vinet stole the opportunity.

"Here is what my son Olivier writes me, and it is confirmed by theletter of Madame Beauvisage, in whom, be it said in passing, my dearminister, you have lost a most excellent deputy. It appears that onthe last market-day Maitre Achille Pigoult, who is left in charge ofthe affairs of the new deputy, received a visit from a peasant-womanof Romilly, a large village in the neighborhood of Arcis. Themysterious father of the deputy, the so-called Marquis de Sallenauve,declared himself to be the last remaining scion of the family; but itseems that this woman produced papers in due form, which show her tobe a Sallenauve in the direct line, and within the degree of parentagerequired to constitute her an heir."

"Was she as ignorant of the existence of the Marquis de Sallenauve asthe marquis seems to have been of hers?" asked Rastignac.

"That does not clearly appear from what she says," replied theattorney-general; "but it might so happen among relations so curiouslyplaced."

"Go on, if you please," said Rastignac; "before we draw conclusions wemust know the facts, which, as you are aware, is not always done inthe Chamber of deputies."

"Monsieur is right," said Vinet; "hail to the man who can muddlequestions. But to return to our peasant-woman. Not being satisfied,naturally, with Maitre Pigoult's reception of her news, she went intothe market-square, and there by the help of a legal practitioner fromher village, who seems to have accompanied her, she spread aboutreports which are very damaging to my worthy colleague in the Chamber.She said, for instance, that it was not true that the Marquis deSallenauve was his father; that it was not even true that the Marquisde Sallenauve was still living; and moreover that the spuriousSallenauve was a man of no heart, who had repudiated his real parents,--adding that she could, by the help of the able man who accompaniedher, compel him to disgorge the Sallenauve property and 'clear out' ofthe place."

"I have no objection to that," said Rastignac; "but this woman must,of course, have papers to prove her allegations?"

"That is the weak point of the matter," replied Vinet. "But let me goon with my story. The government has at Arcis a most intelligent anddevoted functionary in the commissary of police. Circulating among thegroups, as he usually does on market days, he heard these statementsof the peasant-woman, and reported them at once, not to the mayor, whomight not have heeded them, but to Madame Beauvisage."

"_Ah ca_!" said Rastignac, addressing Maxime; "was the candidate yougave us such a dolt as that?"

"Just the man you needed," replied Maxime,--"silly to the last degree,and capable of being wound round anybody's finger. I'll go any lengthsto repair that loss."

"Madame Beauvisage," continued Vinet, "wished to speak with the womanherself, and she ordered Groslier--that's the commissary of police--tofetch her with a threatening air to the mayor's office, so as to giveher an idea that the authorities disapproved of her conduct."

"Did Madame Beauvisage concoct that plan?" asked Rastignac.

"Yes," replied Maxime, "she is a very clever woman."

"Questioned closely by the mayoress," continued Vinet, "who took careto have the mayor present, the peasant-woman was far from categorical.Her grounds for asserting that the new deputy could not be the son ofthe marquis, and the assurance with which she stated that the latterhad long been dead were not, as it appears, very clearly established;vague rumors and the deductions drawn by the village practitioner seemto be all there was to them."

"Then," said Rastignac, "what does all this lead to?"

"Absolutely nothing from a legal point of view," replied theattorney-general; "for supposing the woman were able to establish thefact that this recognition of the said Dorlange was a mere pretence, shehas no status on which to proceed farther. By Article 339 of the CivilCode direct heirship alone has the right to attack the recognition ofnatural children."

"Your balloon is collapsing fast," said the minister.

"So that the woman," continued Vinet, "has no object in proceeding,for she can't inherit; it belongs to the government to pursue the caseof supposition of person; she can do no more than denounce the fact."

"From which you conclude?" said Rastignac, with that curtness ofspeech which to a prolix speaker is a warning to be concise.

"From which I conclude, judicially speaking, that the Romillypeasant-woman, so far as she is concerned, will have her trouble forher pains; but, speaking politically, the thing takes quite anotheraspect."

"Let us see the political side," said the minister; "up to this point,I see nothing."

"In the first place," replied the attorney-general, "you will admitthat it is always possible to bring a bad case?"

"Certainly."

"And I don't suppose it would signify much to you if the woman didembark in a matter in which she can lose nothing but her costs?"

"No, I assure you I am wholly indifferent."

"In any case, I should have advised you to let things take theircourse. The Beauvisage husband and wife have engaged to pay the costsand also the expense of keeping the peasant-woman and her counsel inParis during the inquiry."

"Then," said Rastignac, still pressing for a conclusion, "the case isreally begun. What will be the result?"

"What will be the result?" cried the attorney-general, gettingexcited; "why, anything you please if, _before the case comes fortrial_, your newspapers comment upon it, and your friends spreadreports and insinuations. What will result? why, an immense fall inpublic estimation for our adversary suspected of stealing a name whichdoes not belong to him! What will result? why, the opportunity for afierce challenge in the Chamber."

"Which you will take upon yourself to make?" asked Rastignac.

"Ah! I don't know about that. The matter would have to be rather morestudied, and the turn the case might take more certain, if I hadanything to do with it."

"So, for the present," remarked the minister, "the whole thing amountsto an application of Basile's famous theory about calumny: 'good toset a-going, because some of it will always stick.'"

"Calumny!" exclaimed Vinet, "that remains to be seen. Perhaps a goodround of gossip is all that can be made of it. Monsieur de Trailles,here, knows better than I do the state of things down there. He cantell you that the disappearance of the father immediately after therecognition had a bad effect upon people's minds; and every one inArcis has a vague impression of secret plotting in this affair of theelection. You don't know, my dear minister, all that can be made inthe provinces of a judicial affair when adroitly manipulated,--cooked,as I may say. In my long and laborious career at the bar I saw plentyof that kind of miracle. But a parliamentary debate is another thing.In that there's no need of proof; one can kill one's man withprobabilities and assertions, if hotly maintained."

"But, to come to the point," said Rastignac, "how do you think theaffair ought to be managed?"

"In the first place," replied Vinet, "I should leave the Beauvisagepeople to pay all costs of whatever kind, inasmuch as they propose todo so."

"Do I oppose that?" said the minister. "Have I the right or the meansto do so?"

"The affair," continued Vinet, "should be placed in the hands of somecapable and wily solicitor, like Desroches, for example, Monsieur deTrailles' lawyer. He'll know how to put flesh on the bones of a caseyou justly consider rather thin."

"Well, it is certainly not my place to say to Monsieur de Trailles orany other man, 'I forbid you to employ whom you will as yoursolicitor.'"

"Then we need some pleader who can talk in a moving way about thatsacred thing the Family, and put himself into a state of indignationabout these surreptitious and furtive ways of entering its honoredenclosure."

"Desroches can point out some such person to you. The governmentcannot prevent a man from saying what he pleases."

"But," interposed Maxime, who was forced out of his passive role bythe minister's coldness, "is _not preventing_ all the help we are toexpect in this affair from the government?"

"You don't expect us, I hope, to take this matter upon ourselves?"

"No, of course not; but we have certainly supposed that you would takesome interest in the matter."

"But how?--in what way?"

"Well, as Monsieur le procureur said just now, by giving a hint to thesubsidized newspapers, by stirring up your friends to spread the news,by using a certain influence which power always exerts on the minds ofmagistrates."

"Thank you, no!" replied Rastignac. "When you want the government foran accomplice, my dear Maxime, you must provide a better-laid plotthan that. From your manner this morning I supposed there was reallysomething in all this, and so I ventured to disturb our excellentattorney-general, who knows how I value his advice. But really, yourscheme seems to me too transparent and also too narrow not to bedoomed to inevitable defeat. If I were not married, and could pretendto the hand of Mademoiselle Beauvisage, perhaps I should feeldifferently; of course you will do as you think best. I do not saythat the government will not wish you well in your attempt, but itcertainly cannot descend to make it with you."

"But see," said Vinet, interposing to cut off Maxime's reply, whichwould doubtless have been bitter; "suppose we send the affair to thecriminal courts, and the peasant-woman, instigated by the Beauvisagecouple, should denounce the man who had sworn before a notary, andoffered himself for election falsely, as a Sallenauve: the question isone for the court of assizes."

"But proofs? I return to that, you must have proof," said Rastignac."Have you even a shadow of it?"

"You said yourself, just now," remarked Maxime, "that it was alwayspossible to bring a bad case."

"A civil case, yes; but to fail in a criminal case is a far moreserious matter. It would be a pretty thing if you were shown not tohave a leg to stand on, and the case ended in a decision of_non-lieu_. You couldn't find a better way to put our enemy on apedestal as high as the column of July."

"So," said Maxime, "you see absolutely nothing that can be done?"

"For us, no. For you, my dear Maxime, who have no official character,and who, if need be, can support the attack on Monsieur de Sallenauvepistol in hand, as it were, nothing hinders you from proceeding in thematter."

"Oh, yes!" said Maxime, bitterly, "I'm a sort of free lance."

"Not at all; you are a man intuitively convinced of facts impossibleto prove legally, and you do not give way before the judgment of Godor man."

Monsieur de Trailles rose angrily. Vinet rose also, and, shaking handswith Rastignac as he took leave of him, he said,--

"I don't deny that your course is a prudent one, and I don't say thatin your place I should not do the same thing."

"Adieu, Maxime; without bitterness, I hope," said Rastignac toMonsieur de Trailles, who bowed coldly and with dignity.

When the two conspirators were alone in the antechamber, Maxime turnedto his companion.

"Do you understand such squeamishness?" he asked.

"Perfectly," replied Vinet, "and I wonder to see a clever man like youso duped."

"Yes, duped to make you lose your time and I mine by coming here tolisten to a lecture on virtue!"

"That's not it; but I do think you guileless to be taken in by thatrefusal to co-operate."

"What! do you think--"

"I think that this affair is risky; if it succeeds, the government,arms folded, will reap the benefit. But if on the contrary we fail, itwill not take a share in the defeat. But you may be sure of this, forI know Rastignac well: without seeming to know anything, and withoutcompromising himself in any way, he will help us, and perhaps moreusefully than by open connivance. Think! did he say a single word onthe morality of the affair? Didn't he say, again and again, 'I don'toppose--I have no right to prevent'? And as to the venom of the case,the only fault he found was that it wasn't sure to kill. But in truth,my dear monsieur, this is going to be a hard pull, and we shall wantall the cleverness of that fellow Desroches to get us through."

"Then you think I had better see him?"

"Better see him! why, my good friend, you ought to go to him at once."

"Wouldn't it be better if he talked with you?"

"Oh! no, no!" exclaimed Vinet. "I may be the man to put the questionin the Chamber; and if Desroches were seen with me, I should lose myvirginity."

So saying, he took leave of Maxime with some haste, on the ground thathe ought then to be at the Chamber.

"But I," said Maxime, running after him,--"suppose I want to consultyou in the matter?"

"I leave to-night for my district, to get things into order before theopening of the new session."

"But about bringing up the question which you say may devolve on you?"

"I or another. I will hasten back as soon as I can; but youunderstand, I must put my department in order for a six months'absence."

Left to himself, Monsieur de Trailles had a period of discouragement,resulting from the discovery that these two political Bertrands meantthat his paw should pull the chestnuts from the fire. Rastignac'sbehavior particularly galled him. His mind went back to their firstinterview at Madame Restaud's, twenty years earlier, when he himselfheld the sceptre of fashion, and Rastignac, a poor student, neitherknew how to come into a room nor how to leave it. [See "Pere Goriot."]And now Rastignac was peer of France and minister, while he, Maxime,become his agent, was obliged with folded arms to hear himself toldthat his plot was weak and he must carry it out alone, if at all.

But this discouragement did not last.

"Yes!" he cried to himself, "I _will_ carry it out; my instinct tellsme there is something in it. What nonsense!--a Dorlange, a nobody, toattempt to checkmate Maxime de Trailles and make a stepping-stone ofmy defeat! To my solicitor's," he said to the coachman, opening thedoor of the carriage himself.

Desroches was at home; and Monsieur de Trailles was immediatelyadmitted into his study.

Desroches was a lawyer who had had, like Raffaelle, several manners.First, possessor of a practice without clients, he had made fish ofevery case that came into his net; and he felt himself, inconsequence, little respected by the court. But he was a hard worker,well versed in all the ins and outs of chicanery, a keen observer, andan intelligent reader of the movements of the human heart.Consequently he had made for himself, in course of time, a very goodpractice; he had married a rich woman, and the moment that he thoughthimself able to do without crooked ways he had seriously renouncedthem. In 1839 Desroches had become an honest and skilful solicitor:that is to say, he assumed the interests of his clients with warmthand ability; he never counselled an openly dishonorable proceeding,still less would he have lent a hand to it. As to that fine flower ofdelicacy to be met with in Derville and some others like him, besidesthe sad fact that it is difficult to keep its fragrance fromevaporating in this business world of which Monsieur de Talleyrandsays, "Business means getting the property of others," it is certainthat it can never be added to any second state of existence. The lossof that bloom of the soul, like that of other virginities, isirreparable. Desroches had not aspired to restore it to himself. He nolonger risked anything ignoble or dishonest, but the good tricksadmitted the code of procedure, the good traps, the good treacherieswhich could be legitimately played off upon an adversary, he was veryready to undertake.

Desroches was moreover a man of parts and witty; loving the pleasuresof the table, and like all men perpetually the slaves of imperioustoil, he felt the need of vigorous amusement, taken on the wing andhighly spiced. While purifying after a fashion his judicial life, hestill continued the legal adviser of artists, men of letters,actresses, courtesans, and elegant bohemians like Maxime de Trailles,because he liked to live their life; they were sympathetic to him ashe to them. Their witty _argot_, their easy morals, their rather looseadventures, their expedients, their brave and honorable toil, in aword, their greatness and their weakness,--he understood it allmarvellously well; and, like an ever-indulgent providence, he lentthem his aid whenever they asked for it. But in order to conceal fromhis dignified and more valuable clients whatever might be compromisingin the _clientele_ he really preferred, Desroches had his days ofdomesticity when he was husband and father, especially on Sundays. Heappeared in the Bois de Boulogne in a modest caleche beside his wife(whose ugliness revealed the size of her _dot_), with three childrenon the front seat, who were luckless enough to resemble their mother.This family picture, these virtuous Dominical habits, recalled solittle the week-day Desroches, dining in cafes with all the male andfemale _viveurs_ of renown, that one of them, Malaga, a circus-rider,famous for her wit and vim, remarked that lawyers ought not to beallowed to masquerade in that way and deceive the public withfictitious family joys.

It was to this relative integrity that de Trailles now went forcounsel, as he never failed to do in all the many difficulties heencountered in life. Following a good habit, Desroches listened,without interrupting, to the long explanation of the case submitted tohim. As Maxime hid nothing from this species of confessor, he gave hisreasons for wishing to injure Sallenauve, representing him, in allgood faith, as having usurped the name under which he was elected tothe Chamber,--his hatred making him take the possibility for positiveevidence.

In his heart, Desroches did not want to take charge of an affair inwhich he saw not the slightest chance of success; but he showed hislax integrity by talking over the affair with his client as if it werean ordinary case of legal practice, instead of telling him frankly hisopinion that this pretended "case" was a mere intrigue. The number ofthings done in the domain of evil by connivance in speech, withoutproceeding to the actual collusion of action, are incalculable.

"In the first place," said Desroches, when the matter was allexplained, "a civil suit is not to be thought of. Your Romillypeasant-woman might have her hands full of proofs, but she has noground herself to stand upon; she has no legal interest in contestingthe rights of this recognized natural son."

"Yes, that is what Vinet said just now."

"As for the criminal case, you could, no doubt, compel it by givinginformation to the police authorities of this alleged imposture--"

"Vinet," interrupted Maxime, "inclined to the criminal proceeding."

"Yes, but there are a great many objections to it. In the first place,in order that the complaint be received at all, you must produce acertain amount of proof; then, supposing it is received, and theauthorities are determined to pursue the case, you must have moreevidence of criminality than you have now; and, moreover, supposingthat you can show that the so-called Marquis de Sallenauve committed afraud, how will you prove that the so-called son was privy to it? Hemight have been the dupe of some political schemer."

"But what interest could such a schemer have in giving Dorlange themany advantages he has derived from the recognition?"

"Ah! my dear fellow, in political manners all queer proceedings arepossible; there is no such fertile source for compilers of _causescelebres_ and novelists. In the eyes of the law, you must remember,the counterfeiting of a person is not always a crime."

"How so?" asked Maxime.

"Here," said Desroches, taking up the Five Codes; "do me the favor toread Article 5 of the Penal Code, the only one which gives an openingto the case you have in mind."

Maxime read aloud the article, which was as follows:--

"'Any functionary or public officer who, in the exercise of hisfunction, shall commit forgery--either by false signatures, byalterations of deeds, writings, or signatures, or by counterfeitingpersons--' There, you see," said Maxime, interrupting himself,--"'bycounterfeiting persons--'"

"Go on," insisted Desroches.

"'--by counterfeiting persons,'" resumed de Trailles, "'either bywritings made or intercalated in the public records or otherdocuments, shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for life.'"

Maxime lingered lovingly over the last words, which gave his revenge aforetaste of the fate that awaited Sallenauve.

"My dear count," said Desroches, "you do as the barristers do; theyread to the jury only so much of a legal document as suits their pointof view. You pay no attention to the fact that the only personsaffected by this article are _functionaries_ or _public officers_."

Maxime re-read the article, and convinced himself of the truth of thatremark.

"But," he objected, "there must be something elsewhere about such acrime when committed by private individuals."

"No, there is not; you can trust my knowledge of jurisprudence,--theCode is absolutely silent in that direction."

"Then the crime we wish to denounce can be committed with impunity?"

"Its repression is always doubtful," replied Desroches. "Judges dosometimes make up for the deficiency of the Code in this respect.Here," he added, turning over the leaves of a book of reference,--"here are two decisions of the court of assizes, reported inCarnot's Commentary on the Penal Code: one of July 7, 1814, the otherApril 24, 1818,--both confirmed by the court of appeals, which condemnfor forgery, by 'counterfeiting persons,' individuals who were neitherfunctionaries nor public officers: but these decisions, unique in law,rest on the authority of an article in which the crime they punish isnot even mentioned; and it is only by elaborate reasoning that theycontrived to make this irregular application of it. You canunderstand, therefore, how very doubtful the issue of such a casewould be, because in the absence of a positive rule you can never tellhow the magistrates might decide."

"Consequently, your opinion, like Rastignac's, is that we had bettersend our peasant-woman back to Romilly and drop the whole matter?"

"There is always something to be done if one knows how to set aboutit," replied Desroches. "There is a point that neither you norRastignac nor Vinet seems to have thought of; and that is, to proceedin a criminal case against a member of the national representation,except for flagrant crime, requires the consent and authority of theChamber."

"True," said Maxime, "but I don't see how a new difficulty is going tohelp us."

"You wouldn't be sorry to send your adversary with the galleys," saidDesroches, laughing.

"A villain," added Maxime, "who may make me lose a rich marriage; afellow who poses for stern virtue, and then proceeds to trickery ofthis kind!"

"Well, you must resign yourself to a less glorious result; but you canmake a pretty scandal, and destroy the reputation of your man; andthat ought, it seems to me, to serve your ends."

"Of course,--better that than nothing."

"Well, then, here's what I advise. Don't let your peasant-woman lodgeher complaint before the criminal court, but make her place in thehands of the president of the Chamber of deputies a simple request forpermission to proceed. Probably the permission will not be granted,and the affair will have to stop at that stage; but the matter beingonce made known will circulate through the Chambers, the newspaperswill get hold of it and make a stir, and the ministry, _sub rosa_, canenvenom the vague accusation through its friends."

"_Parbleu_! my dear fellow," cried Maxime, delighted to find a wayopen to his hatred, "you've a strong head,--stronger than that ofthese so-called statesmen. But this request for permission addressedto the president of the Chamber, who is to draw it up?"

"Oh! not I," said Desroches, who did not wish to mix himself up anyfarther in this low intrigue. "It isn't legal assistance that youwant; this is simply firing your first gun, and I don't undertake thatbusiness. But you can find plenty of briefless barristers always readyto put their finger in the political pie. Massol, for instance, candraw it up admirably. But you must not tell him that the idea camefrom me."

"Oh! as for that," said Maxime, "I'll take it all on my own shoulders.Perhaps in this form Rastignac may come round to the project."

"Yes, but take care you don't make an enemy of Vinet, who will thinkyou very impertinent to have an idea which ought, naturally, to havecome into the head of so great a parliamentary tactician as himself."

"Well, before long," said Maxime, rising, "I hope to bring the Vinetsand Rastignacs, and others like them, to heel. Where do you dine thisevening?" he added.

"In a cave," replied Desroches, "with a band."

"Where's that?"

"I suppose, in the course of your erotic existence, you have hadrecourse to the good offices of a certain Madame de Saint-Esteve?"

"No," replied Maxime, "I have always done my own business in thatline."

"True," said Desroches, "you conquer in the upper ranks, where, as ageneral thing, they don't use go-betweens. But, at any rate, you haveheard of Madame de Saint-Esteve?"

"Of course; her establishment is in the rue Neuve-Saint-Marc, and itwas she who got that pot of money out of Nucingen for La Torpille.Isn't she some relation to the chief of detective police, who bearsthe same name, and used to be one of the same kind as herself?"

"I don't know about that," said Desroches, "but what I can tell you isthat in her business as procuress--as it was called in days lessdecorous than our own--the worthy woman has made a fortune, and now,without any serious change of occupation, she lives magnificently inthe rue de Provence, where she carries on the business of amatrimonial agency."

"Is that where you are going to dine?" asked Maxime.

"Yes, with the director of the London opera-house, Emile Blondet,Finot, Lousteau, Felicien Vernon, Theodore Gaillard, Hector Merlin,and Bixiou, who was commissioned to invite me, as it seems they are inwant of my _experience_ and _capacity for business_!"

"_Ah ca_! then there's some financial object in this dinner?"

"No; it merely concerns a theatrical venture,--the engagement of aprima donna; and they want to submit the terms of the contract to myjudgment. You understand that the rest of the guests are invited totrumpet the affair as soon as the papers are signed."

"Who is the object of all this preparation?"

"Oh! a _star_,--destined, they say, to European success; an Italian,discovered by a Swedish nobleman, Comte Halphertius, through themedium of Madame de Saint-Esteve. The illustrious manager of theLondon opera-house is negotiating this treaty in order that she shallmake her first appearance at his theatre."

"Well, adieu, my dear fellow; a pleasant dinner," said Maxime,preparing to depart. "If your star shines in London, it will probablyappear in our firmament next winter. As for me, I must go and attendto the sunrise in Arcis. By the bye, where does Massol live?"

"Faith! I couldn't tell you that. I never myself trust him with acase, for I will not employ barristers who dabble in politics. But youcan get his address from the 'Gazette des Tribuneaux'; he is one oftheir reporters."

Maxime went to the office of that newspaper; but, probably on accountof creditors, the office servant had express orders not to give thebarrister's address, so that, in spite of his arrogant, imperiousmanner, Monsieur de Trailles obtained no information. Happily, hebethought him that he frequently saw Massol at the Opera, and heresolved to seek him there that evening. Before going to dinner, hewent to the lodgings in the rue Montmartre, where he had installed theRomilly peasant-woman and her counsel, whom Madame Beauvisage hadalready sent to Paris. He found them at dinner, making the most of theBeauvisage funds, and he gave them an order to come to his apartmentthe next day at half-past eleven without breakfasting.

In the evening he found Massol, as he expected, at the opera-house.Going up to the lawyer with the slightly insolent manner which wasnatural to him, he said,--

"Monsieur, I have an affair, half legal, half political, which Idesire to talk over with you. If it did not demand a certain amount ofsecrecy, I would go to your office, but I think we could talk withmore safety in my own apartment; where, moreover, I shall be able toput you in communication with other persons concerned in the affair.May I hope that to-morrow morning, at eleven o'clock, you will do methe favor to take a cup of tea with me?"

If Massol had had an office, he might possibly not have consented, forthe sake of his legal dignity, to reverse the usual order of things;but as he perched rather than lodged in any particular place, he wasglad of an arrangement which left his abode, if he had any, incognito.

"I shall have the honor to be with you at the hour named," he repliedceremoniously.

"Rue Pigalle," said Maxime, "No. 6."

"Yes, I know," returned Massol,--"a few steps from the corner of therue de la Rochefoucauld."

VIII

SOME OLD ACQUAINTANCES

A few evenings after the one on which Sallenauve and Marie-Gaston hadtaken Jacques Bricheteau to Saint-Sulpice to hear the Signora Luigia'svoice, the church was the scene of a curious little incident thatpassed by almost wholly unperceived. A young man entered hastily by aside-door; he seemed agitated, and so absorbed in some anxiety that heforgot to remove his hat. The beadle caught him by the arm, and hisface became livid, but, turning round, he saw at once that his fearswere causeless.

"Is your hat glued on your head, young man?" said the beadle,pompously.

A few seconds after the irruption of this youth the same door gaveaccess to a man around whose powerful, seamed face was the collar of awhite beard, which, combined with a thick shock of hair, also whitebut slightly reddish in tone and falling almost to his shoulders, gavehim very much the air of an old Conventional, or a Bernardin deSaint-Pierre who had had the small-pox. His face and his hair placedhim in the sixties, but his robust figure, the energetic decision ofhis movements, and, above all, the piercing keenness of the glancewhich he cast about him on entering the church, showed a powerfulorganization on which the passage of years had made little or noimpression. No doubt, he was in search of the young fellow who hadpreceded him; but he did not commit the mistake of entering the crowd,where he knew of course that the youth had lost himself. Like apractised hunter, he saw that pursuit was useless, and he was justabout to leave the church when, after a short organ prelude, thecontralto of the signora delivering its solemn notes gave forth thatglorious harmony to which is sung the Litany of the Virgin. The beautyof the voice, the beauty of the chant, the beauty of the words of thesacred hymn, which the fine method of the singer brought outdistinctly, made a singular impression on the stalwart stranger.Instead of leaving the church, he put himself in the shadow of acolumn, against which he leaned as he stood; but as the last notes ofthe divine canticle died away among the arches of the church, he knelton the pavement, and whoever had chanced to look that way would haveseen two heavy tears rolling slowly down his cheeks. The benedictiongiven, and the crowd dispersing, he rose, wiped his eyes, and,muttering, "What a fool I am!" left the church. Then he went to thePlace Saint-Sulpice, and, beckoning to a coach on the stand, he saidto the driver,--

"Rue de Provence, my man, quick! there's fat in it."

Reaching the house, he went rapidly up the stairway, and rang at thedoor of an apartment on the first floor.

"Is my aunt at home?" he inquired of the Negro who opened it. Then hefollowed the man, and was presently ushered into a salon where theNegro announced,--

"Monsieur de Saint-Esteve."

The salon which the famous chief of the detective police now enteredwas remarkable for the luxury, but still more for the horribly badtaste, of its appointments. Three women of advanced age were seatedround a card-table earnestly employed in a game of dominoes. Threeglasses and an empty silver bowl which gave forth a vinous odor showedthat the worship of double-sixes was not without its due libations.

"Good evening, mesdames," said the chief of police, sitting down; "forI have something to say to each of you."

"We'll listen presently," said his aunt; "you can't interrupt thegame. It won't be long; I play for four."

"White all round!" said one of the hags.

"Domino!" cried the Saint-Esteve. "I win; you have four points betweenyou two, and the whites are all out. Well, my dear, what is it?" shesaid, turning to her nephew, after a rather stormy reckoning among thewitches was over.

"You, Madame Fontaine," said the chief of police, addressing one ofthe venerable beings, whose head was covered with disorderly gray hairand a battered green bonnet,--"you neglect your duty; you have sent meno report, and, on the contrary, I get many complaints of you. Theprefect has a great mind to close your establishment. I protect you onaccount of the services you are supposed to render us; but if youdon't render them, I warn you, without claiming any gifts ofprediction, that your fate-shop will be shut up."

"There now!" replied the pythoness, "you prevented me from hiringMademoiselle Lenormand's apartment in the rue de Tournon, and how canyou expect me to make reports about the cooks and clerks and workmenand grisettes who are all I get where I am? If you had let me workamong the great folks, I'd make you reports and plenty of them."

"I don't see how you can say that, Madame Fontaine," said Madame deSaint-Esteve. "I am sure I send you all my clients. It was only theother day," continued the matrimonial agent, "I sent you that Italiansinger, living with a deputy who is against the government; why didn'tyou report about that?"

"There's another thing," said the chief of police, "which appears inseveral of the complaints that I received about you,--that nastyanimal--"

"What, Astaroth?" said Madame Fontaine.

"Yes, that batrachian, that toad, to come down to his right name. Itseems he nearly killed a woman who was pregnant--"

"Well, well," interrupted the sorceress, "if I am to tell fortunesalone, you might as well guillotine me at once. Because a fool of awoman lay-in with a dead child, must toads be suppressed in nature?Why did God make them?"

"My dear woman," said the chief, "did you never hear that in 1617 alearned man was put to death for having a toad in a bottle?"

"Yes, I know that; but we are not in those light ages," replied MadameFontaine, facetiously.

"As for you, Madame Nourrisson, the complaint is that you gather yourfruit unripe. You ought to know by this time the laws and regulations,and I warn you that everything under twenty-one years of age isforbidden. I wonder I have to remind you of it. Now, aunt, what I haveto say to you is confidential."

Thus dismissed, two of the Fates departed.

Since the days when Jacques Collin had abdicated his former kingshipand had made himself, as they say, a new skin in the police force,Jacqueline Collin, though she had never put herself within reach ofthe law, had certainly never donned the robe of innocence. But havingattained, like her nephew, to what might fairly be called opulence,she kept at a safe and respectful distance from the Penal Code, andunder cover of an agency that was fairly avowable, she shelteredpractices more or less shady, on which she continued to bestow anintelligence and an activity that were really infernal.

"Aunt," said Vautrin, "I have so many things to say to you that Idon't know where to begin."

"I should think so! It is a week since I've seen you."

"In the first place, I must tell you that I have just missed asplendid chance."

"What sort of chance?" asked Jacqueline.

"In the line of my odious calling. But this time the capture was worthmaking. Do you remember that little Prussian engraver about whom Isent you to Berlin?"

"The one who forged those Vienna bank bills in that wonderful way?"

"Yes. I just missed arresting him near Saint-Sulpice. But I followedhim into the church, where I heard your Signora Luigia."

"Ah!" said Jacqueline, "she has made up her mind at last, and has leftthat imbecile of a sculptor."

"It is about her that I have come to talk to you," said Vautrin. "Hereare the facts. The Italian opera season in London has begun badly,--their prima donna is taken ill. Sir Francis Drake, the impresario,arrived in Paris yesterday, at the Hotel des Princes, rue deRichelieu, in search of a prima donna, at any rate _pro tem_. I havebeen to see him in the interests of the signora. Sir Francis Drake isan Englishman, very bald, with a red nose, and long yellow teeth. Hereceived me with cold politeness, and asked in very good French whatmy business was."

"Did you propose to him Luigia?"

"That was what I went for,--in the character, be it understood, of aSwedish nobleman. He asked if her talent was known. 'Absolutelyunknown,' I replied. 'It is risky,' said Sir Francis; 'neverthelessarrange to let me hear her.' I told him that she was staying with herfriend Madame de Saint-Esteve, at whose house I could take the libertyto invite him to dinner."

"When?" asked Jacqueline.

"To-day is the 19th; I said the 21st. Order the dinner from Chevet forfifteen persons, and send for your client Bixiou to make you out thelist. Tell him you want the chief men of the press, a lawyer to settlethe terms of the contract, and a pianist to accompany the signora. Lether know what hangs upon it. Sir Francis Drake and I will make up thenumber. Useless to tell you that I am your friend Comte Halphertius,who, having no house in Paris, gives this dinner at yours. Mind thateverything is done in the best taste."

In designating Bixiou to his aunt as the recruiting-officer of thedinner, Vautrin knew that through the universality of his relationswith writing, singing, designing, eating, living, and squirming Paris,no one was as capable as he of spreading the news of the dinnerbroadcast.

At seven o'clock precisely all the guests named by Desroches toMaxime, plus Desroches himself, were assembled in the salon of the ruede Provence, when the Negro footman opened the door and announced SirFrancis Drake and his Excellency the Comte Halphertius. The dress ofthe Swedish nobleman was correct to the last degree,--black coat,white cravat, and white waistcoat, on which glowed the ribbon of anorder hanging from his neck; the rest of his decorations were fastenedto his coat by chainlets. At the first glance which he cast upon thecompany, Vautrin had the annoyance of beholding that Jacqueline'shabits and instincts had been more potent than his express order,--fora species of green and yellow turban surmounted her head in a mannerwhich he felt to be ridiculous; but thanks to the admirable manner inwhich the rest of his programme had been carried out, the lucklesscoiffure was forgiven.

As for Signora Luigia, dressed in black, which was customary with her,and having had the good sense to reject the services of a _coiffeur_,she was royally beautiful. An air of melancholy gravity, expressed byher whole person, inspired a sentiment of respect which surprised themen who on Bixiou's invitation were there to judge of her. The onlyspecial presentation that was made among the guests was that ofDesroches to Vautrin, which Bixiou made in the following livelyformula:--

"Maitre Desroches, the most intelligent solicitor of modern times--Comte Halphertius of Sweden."

As for Sir Francis Drake, he seemed at first inclined to disdain theinfluence of the dramatic newspapers, whose representatives were thereassembled; but presently recognizing Felicien Vernou and Lousteau, twonoted men of that secondary press, he greeted them heartily and shookthem by the hand.

Before dinner was announced, Comte Halphertius judged it advisable tomake a little speech.

"Dear madame," he said to his aunt, "you are really a fairy godmother.This is the first time I have ever been in a Parisian salon, and hereyou have assembled to meet me all that literature, the arts, and thelegal profession can offer of their best. I, who am only a northernbarbarian,--though our country, too, can boast of its celebrities,--Linnaeus, Berzelius, Thorwaldsen, Tegner, Franzen, Geier, and thecharming novelist Frederika Bremer,--I find myself a cipher in suchcompany."

The announcement of dinner by a majordomo, who threw open the doubledoors of the salon, put an end to this remark. Jacqueline tookVautrin's arm, saying in a whisper as they walked along,--

"Have I done things all right?"

"Yes," replied Vautrin, "it is all in good style, except that devil ofa turban of yours, which makes you look like a poll-parrot."

"Why, no," said Jacqueline, "not at all; with my Javanese face" (shewas born on the island of Java), "oriental things set me off."

Madame de Saint-Esteve placed Sir Francis Drake upon her right, andDesroches on her left; Vautrin sat opposite, flanked on either side byEmile Blondet, of the "Debats," and the Signoria Luigia; the rest ofthe company placed themselves as they pleased. The dinner, on thewhole, was dull; Bixiou, at Madame de Saint-Esteve's request, hadwarned the party to risk nothing that might offend the chaste ears ofthe pious Italian. Forced to mind their morals, as a celebrated criticonce observed, these men of wit and audacity lost their spirit; and,taking refuge in the menu, which was excellent, they either talkedtogether in a low voice, or let the conversation drag itself along inbourgeois commonplaces. They ate and they drank, but they did notdine. Bixiou, incapable of bearing this state of things during a wholedinner, determined to create a reaction. The appearance of thisSwedish magnate, evidently on intimate terms with the Saint-Esteve,puzzled him. He noticed a certain insufficiency in Vautrin, andthought to himself that if he were really a great nobleman, he wouldbe more equal to the occasion, and give a tone to the feast. Hedetermined, therefore, to test him, and thus provide amusement, at anyrate, for himself. So, at the end of the second course, he suddenlysaid from his end of the table,--

"Monsieur le comte, you are too young, of course, to have knownGustavus III., whom Scribe and Auber have set in opera, while the restof us glorify him in a _galop_."

"I beg your pardon," replied Vautrin, jumping at the chance thus givenhim, "I am nearly sixty years of age, which makes me thirteen in 1792,when our beloved sovereign was killed by the assassin Ankarstroem, sothat I can well remember that period."

Thus, by means of a little volume entitled "Characters and Anecdotesof the Court of Sweden," printed in 1808, and bought on the quays inthe interests of his Swedish incarnation, the chief of the detectivepolice evaded the trap. He did better. The faucet being open, hepoured forth such an abundance of erudition and detailedcircumstances, he related so many curious and secret anecdotes,especially relating to the _coup d'etat_ by which, in 1772, GustavusIII. had freed his crown,--in short, he was so precise and sointeresting that as they left the table Emile Blondet said toBixiou,--

"I thought, as you did, that a foreign count in the hands of amarriage agent was a very suspicious character; but he knows the courtof Sweden in a way that it was quite impossible to get out of books.He is evidently a man well born; one might make some interestingarticles out of the stories he has just told."

"Yes," said Bixiou, "and I mean to cultivate his acquaintance; I couldmake a good deal out of him in the Charivari."

"You have better find out first," said Desroches, "whether he hasenough French humor to like being caricatured."

Presently the first notes of the piano gave notice that the SignoraLuigia was about to mount the breach. She first sang the romance in"Saul" with a depth of expression which moved the whole company, eventhough that areopagus of judges were digesting a good dinner, as towhich they had not restrained themselves. Emile Blondet, who was moreof a political thinker than a man of imagination, was completelycarried away by his enthusiasm. As the song ended, Felicien Vernou andLousteau went up to Sir Francis Drake and reproached him for wishingto take such a treasure from France, at the same time flattering himfor his cleverness as an impresario.

La Luigia then sang an air from the "Nina" of Paesiello; and inthat--the part being very dramatic--she showed a talent for comedysecond only to her vocal gift. It was received with truly genuineapplause; but what assured and completed her success with these trainedjudges was her modesty and the sort of ignorance in which she stillremained of her amazing talent,--in the midst, too, of praises whichmight have turned her head. Accustomed to frenzied self-love and theinsolent pretensions of the veriest sparrow of the opera, thesejournalists were amazed and touched by the humility, the simplicity ofthis empress, who seemed quite astonished at the effect she produced.

The success of the trial passed all expectation. There was but onevoice as to the desirability of immediately engaging her; and SirFrancis Drake, Vautrin, and Desroches presently passed into anadjoining room to draw up the terms of the contract. As soon as thatwas done, Vautrin returned to the salon for _la diva_, requesting herto hear the contract read and to affix her signature. Her departurefor London without further delay was fixed for the following day incompany with Sir Francis Drake.

A few days later the packet-boat from Boulogne conveyed to Englandanother personage of this history. Jacques Bricheteau, having obtainedSallenauve's present address from Madame de l'Estorade, andconsidering the danger which threatened the new deputy extremelyurgent, decided not to write, but to go himself to England and conferwith him in person. When he reached London, he was surprised to learnthat Hanwell was the most celebrated insane asylum in Great Britain.Had he reflected on the mental condition of Marie-Gaston, he mighthave guessed the truth. As it was, he felt completely bewildered; butnot committing the blunder of losing his time in useless conjectures,he went on without a moment's delay to Hanwell, which establishment isonly about nine miles from London, pleasantly situated at the foot ofa hill on the borders of Middlesex and Surrey.

After a long detention in the waiting-room, he was at last enabled tosee his friend at a moment when Marie-Gaston's insanity, which forseveral days had been in the stages of mania, was yielding to the careof the doctor, and showed some symptoms of a probable recovery. Assoon as Sallenauve was alone with the organist, he inquired the reasonthat led him to follow him; and he heard, with some emotion, the newsof the intrigues which Maxime de Trailles had apparently organizedagainst him. Returning to his original suspicions, he said to JacquesBricheteau,--

"Are you really sure that that person who declared himself my fatherwas the Marquis de Sallenauve, and that I am truly his son?"

"Mother Marie-des-Anges and Achille Pigoult, by whom I was warned ofthis plot, have no more doubt than I have of the existence of theMarquis de Sallenauve; this gossip with which they threaten you has,in my judgment, but one dangerous aspect. I mean that by your absenceyou are giving a free field to your adversaries."

"But," replied the deputy, "the Chamber will not condemn me without ahearing. I wrote to the president and asked for leave of absence, andI took the precaution to request de l'Estorade, who knows the reasonof my absence, to be kind enough to guarantee me, should my absence becalled in question."

"I think you also wrote to Madame de l'Estorade, didn't you?"

"I wrote only to her," replied Sallenauve. "I wanted to tell her aboutthe great misfortune of our mutual friend, and, at the same time, Iasked her to explain to her husband the kind service I requested himto do for me."

"If that is so," said Bricheteau, "you need not count for one momenton the l'Estorades. A knowledge of this trick which is being organizedagainst you has reached their ears and affected their minds, I am verysure."

He then related the reception he had met with from Madame del'Estorade, and the uncivil remarks she had made about Sallenauve,from which he concluded that in the struggle about to take place noassistance could be relied on from that direction.

"I have every reason to be surprised," said Sallenauve, "after thewarm assurances Madame de l'Estorade has given me of an unfailinggood-will. However," he added, philosophically, "everything ispossible in this world; and calumny has often undermined friendship."

"You understand, therefore," said Bricheteau, "that it isall-important to start for Paris, without a moment's delay. Your stayhere, all things considered, is only relatively necessary."

"On the contrary," said Sallenauve, "the doctor considers that mypresence here may be of the utmost utility. He has not yet let me seethe patient, because he expects to produce some great result when I dosee him."

"That is problematical," returned Jacques Bricheteau; "whereas bystaying here you are compromising your political future and yourreputation in the most positive manner. Such a sacrifice no friendshiphas the right to demand of you."

"Let us talk of it with the doctor," said Sallenauve, unable to denythe truth of what Bricheteau said.

On being questioned, the doctor replied that he had just seen symptomsin the patient which threatened another paroxysm.

"Far from that. I have perfect faith in the ultimate termination ofthe case; but I see more delay in reaching it than at first Iexpected," replied the doctor.

"I have recently been elected to our Chamber of deputies," saidSallenauve, "and I ought to be in my seat at the opening of thesession; in fact, my interests are seriously concerned, and my friendMonsieur Bricheteau has come over to fetch me. If therefore I can besure that my presence here is not essential--"

"By all means go," said the doctor. "It may be a long time before Icould allow you to see the patient; therefore you can leave withoutthe slightest self-reproach. In fact, you can really do nothing hereat present. Trust him to Lord Lewin and me; I assure you that I shallmake his recovery, of which I have no doubt, a matter of personalpride and self-love."

Sallenauve pressed the doctor's hand gratefully, and started forLondon without delay. Arriving there at five o'clock, the travellerswere unable to leave before midnight; meantime their eyes were struckat every turn by those enormous posters which English _puffism_ aloneis able to produce, announcing the second appearance in Her Majesty'stheatre of the Signora Luigia. The name alone was enough to attractthe attention of both travellers; but the newspapers to which they hadrecourse for further information furnished, as is customary inEngland, so many circumstantial details about the prima donna thatSallenauve could no longer doubt the transformation of his latehousekeeper into an operatic star of the first magnitude.

Going to the box-office, which he found closed, every seat having beensold before mid-day, Sallenauve considered himself lucky to obtain twoseats from a speculator, at the enormous cost of five pounds apiece.The opera was "La Pazza d'Amore" of Paesiello. When the curtain rose,Sallenauve, who had spent the last two weeks at Hanwell, among theinsane, could all the more appreciate the remarkable dramatic talenthis late housekeeper displayed in the part of Nina. Even Bricheteau,though annoyed at Sallenauve's determination to be present, was socarried away by the power of the singer that he said to his companionrather imprudently,--

"Politics have no triumphs as that. Art alone is deity--"

"And Luigia is its prophet!" added Sallenauve.

Never, perhaps, had the Italian opera-house in London presented a morebrilliant sight; the whole audience was in a transport of enthusiasm,and bouquets fairly rained upon the stage.

As they left the theatre, Bricheteau looked at his watch; it was aquarter to eleven; they had thus ample time to take the steamerleaving, as the tide served, at midnight. But when the organist turnedto make this remark to Sallenauve, who was behind him, he saw nothingof his man; the deputy had vanished!

Ten minutes later the maid of the Signora Luigia entered hermistress's dressing-room, which was filled with distinguishedEnglishmen presented by Sir Francis Drake to the new star, and gaveher a card. On reading the name the prima donna turned pale andwhispered a few words to the waiting-woman; then she seemed so anxiousto be rid of the crowd who were pressing round her that her buddingadorers were inclined to be angry. But a great singer has rareprivileges, and the fatigue of the part into which the _diva_ had justput so much soul seemed so good an excuse for her sulkiness that hercourt dispersed without much murmuring.

Left alone, the signora rapidly resumed her usual dress, and thedirectors' carriage took her back to the hotel where she had stayedsince arriving in London. On entering her salon she found Sallenauve,who had preceded her.

"You in London, monsieur!" she said; "it is like a dream!"

"Especially to me," replied Sallenauve, "who find you here, aftersearching hopelessly for you in Paris--"

"Did you take that pains?--why?"

"You left me in so strange a manner, and your nature is so rash, youknew so little of Paris, and so many dangers might threaten yourinexperience, that I feared for you."

"Suppose harm did happen to me; I was neither your wife, nor yoursister, nor your mistress; I was only your--"

"I thought," said Sallenauve, hastily, "that you were my friend."

"I was--under obligation to you," she replied. "I saw that I wasbecoming an embarrassment in your new situation. What else could I dobut release you from it?"

"Who told you that you were an embarrassment to me? Have I ever saidor intimated anything of the kind? Could I not speak to you, as I did,about your professional life without wounding so deeply yoursensibility?"

"People feel things as they feel them," replied Luigia. "I had theinward consciousness that you would rather I were out of your housethan in it. My future you had already given me the means to secure;you see for yourself it is opening in a manner that ought to reassureyou."

"It seems to me so brilliant that I hope you will not think meindiscreet if I ask whose hand, more fortunate than mine, has producedthis happy result."

"That of a great Swedish nobleman," replied Luigia, withouthesitation. "Or rather, I should say, as the friend of a lady who tookan interest in me, he procured me an engagement at Her Majesty'sTheatre; the kind encouragement of the public has done the rest."

"Say, rather, your own talent; I was present at the performance thisevening."

Making him a coquettish courtesy, Luigia said,--

"I hope you were satisfied with your humble servant."

"Your musical powers did not surprise me, for those I knew already;but those transports of dramatic passion, your powerful acting, sosure of itself, did certainly astonish me."

"Suffered? Yes, I know you did, in Italy. But I have liked to feelthat after your arrival in France--"

"Always; I have always suffered," she said in a voice of emotion. "Iwas not born under a happy star."

"That 'always' seems like a reproach to me," said Sallenauve, "and yetI do not know what wrong I can have done you."

"You have done me no wrong; the harm was there!" she cried, strikingher breast,--"within me!"

"Probably some foolish fancy, such as that of leaving my housesuddenly, because your mistaken sense of honor made you think yourselfin my way."

"Not mistaken," she replied. "I know what was in your thoughts. Ifonly on account of what you had done for me, I knew I could neveraspire to your esteem."

"But, my dear Luigia, I call such ideas absurd. Have I ever shown youany want of consideration? How could I? Your conduct has always beenexemplary."

"Yes, I tried to do everything that would give you a good opinion ofme; but I was none the less the widow of Benedetto."

"What! can you suppose that that misfortune, the result of a justvengeance--"

"Ah! no, it is not the death of that man that lowered me in your eyes;on the contrary. But I had been the wife of a buffoon, of apolice-spy, of a base man, ready to sell me to any one who would givehim money."

"As long as that situation lasted, I thought you deeply to be pitied;but despised, never!"

"And," continued the Italian, more excitedly, "we had lived two yearsunder the same roof, you and I alone."

"Yes, and I found my comfort in it."

"Did you think me ugly?"

"You know better than that, for I made my finest statue from you."

"Foolish?"

"No one was ever foolish who could act such a part as you didto-night."

"Then you must see that you despised me."

Sallenauve seemed wholly surprised by this deduction; he thoughthimself very clever in replying,--

"It seems to me that if I had behaved to you in any other manner youwould have the right to say that I despised you."

But he had to do with a woman who in everything, in her friendships,her hatreds, her actions, as in her words, went straight to her point.As if she feared not to be fully understood, she went on:--

"To-day, monsieur, I can tell you all, for I speak of the past; thefuture has opened before me, as you see. From the day you were good tome and by your generous protection I escaped an infamous outrage, myheart has been wholly yours."

Sallenauve, who had never suspected that feeling, and, above all, wasunable to understand how so artlessly crude an avowal of it could bemade, knew not what to answer.

"I am not ignorant," continued the strange woman, "that I should havedifficulty in rising from the degradation in which I appeared to youat our first meeting. If, at the time you consented to take me withyou to Paris, I had seen you incline to treat me with gallantry, hadyou shown any sign of turning to your profit the dangerous situationin which I had placed myself, my heart would instantly have retired;you would have seemed to me an ordinary man--"

"So," remarked Sallenauve, "to love you would have been insulting; notto love you was cruel! What sort of woman are you, that either way youare displeased?"

"You ought not to have loved me," she replied, "while the mud wasstill on my skirts and you scarcely knew me; because then your lovewould have been the love of the eyes and not of the soul. But when,after two years passed beside you, you had seen by my conduct that Iwas an honorable woman; when, without ever accepting a pleasure, Idevoted myself to the care of the house and your comfort without otherrelaxation than the study of my art; and when, above all, I sacrificedto you that modesty you had seen me defend with such energy,--then youwere cruel not to comprehend, and never, never will your imaginationtell you what I have suffered, and all the tears you have made meshed."

"But, my dear Luigia, I was your host, and even had I suspected whatyou now reveal to me, my duty as an honorable man would have commandedme to see nothing of it, and to take no advantage of you."

"Ah! that is not the reason; it is simpler than that. You saw nothingbecause your fancy turned elsewhere."

"Well, and if it were so?"

"It ought not to be so," replied Luigia, vehemently. "That woman isnot free; she has a husband and children, and though you did make asaint of her, I presume to say, ridiculous as it may seem, that she isnot worth me!"

Sallenauve could not help smiling, but he answered very seriously,--

"You are totally mistaken as to your rival. Madame de l'Estorade wasnever anything to me but a model, without other value than the factthat she resembled another woman. That one I knew in Rome before Iknew you. She had beauty, youth, and a glorious inclination for art.To-day she is confined in a convent; like you, she has paid hertribute to sorrow; therefore, you see--"

"What, three hearts devoted to you," cried Luigia, "and not oneaccepted? A strange star is yours! No doubt I suffer from its fatalinfluence, and therefore I must pardon you."

"You are good to be merciful; will you now let me ask you a question?Just now you spoke of your future, and I see it with my own eyes. Whoare the friends who have suddenly advanced you so far and sosplendidly in your career? Have you made any compact with the devil?"

"Perhaps," said Luigia, laughing.

"Don't laugh," said Sallenauve; "you chose to rush alone andunprotected into that hell called Paris, and I dread lest you havemade some fatal acquaintance. I know the immense difficulties and theimmense dangers that a woman placed as you are now must meet. Who isthis lady that you spoke of? and how did you ever meet her whileliving under my roof?"

"She is a pious and charitable woman, who came to see me during yourabsence at Arcis. She had noticed my voice at Saint-Sulpice, duringthe services of the Month of Mary, and she tried to entice me away toher own parish church of Notre-Dame de Lorette,--it was for that shecame to see me."

"Tell me her name."

"Madame de Saint-Esteve."

Though far from penetrating the many mysteries that surroundedJacqueline Collin, Sallenauve knew Madame de Saint-Esteve to be awoman of doubtful character and a matrimonial agent, having at timesheard Bixiou tell tales of her.

"But that woman," he said, "has a shocking notoriety in Paris. She isan adventuress of the worst kind."

"I suspected it," said Luigia. "But what of that?"

"And the man to whom she introduced you?"

"He an adventurer? No, I think not. At any rate, he did me a greatservice."

"But he may have designs upon you."

"Yes, people may have designs upon me," replied Luigia, with dignity,"but they cannot execute them: between those designs and me, there ismyself."

"But your reputation?"

"That was lost before I left your house. I was said to be yourmistress; you had yourself to contradict that charge before theelectoral college; you contradicted it, but you could not stop it."

"And my esteem, for which you profess to care?"

"I no longer want it. You did not love me when I wished for it; youshall not love me now that I no longer wish it."

"Who knows?" exclaimed Sallenauve.

"There are two reasons why it cannot be," said the singer. "In thefirst place, it is too late; and in the second, we are no longer onthe same path."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I am an artist and you have ceased to be one. I rise; you fall."

"Do you call it falling to rise, perhaps, to the highest dignities ofthe State?"

"To whatever height you rise," said Luigia, passionately, "you willever be below your past and the noble future that was once before you--Ah! stay; I think that I have lied to you; had you remained asculptor, I believe I should have borne still longer your coldness andyour disdain; I should have waited until I entered my vocation, untilthe halo round a singer's head might have shown you, at last, that Iwas there beside you. But on the day that you apostatized I would nolonger continue my humiliating sacrifice. There is no future possiblebetween us."

"Do you mean," said Sallenauve, holding out his hand, which she didnot take, "that we cannot even be friends?"

"No," she replied; "all is over--past and gone. We shall hear of eachother; and from afar, as we pass in life, we can wave our hands inrecognition, but nothing further."

"So," said Sallenauve, sadly, "this is how it all ends!"

La Luigia looked at him a moment, her eyes shining with tears.

"Listen," she said in a resolute and sincere tone: "this is possible.I have loved you, and after you, no one can enter the heart you havedespised. You will hear that I have lovers; believe it not; you willnot believe it, remembering the woman that I am. But who knows? Lateryour life may be swept clean of the other sentiments that have stoodin my way; the freedom, the strangeness of the avowal I have just madeto you will remain in your memory, and then it is not impossible thatafter this long rejection you may end by desiring me. If that shouldhappen,--if at the end of many sad deceptions you should return, insheer remorse, to the religion of art,--then, then, supposing thatlong years have not made love ridiculous between us, remember thisevening. Now, let us part; it is already too late for a_tete-a-tete_."

So saying, she took a light and passed into an inner room, leavingSallenauve in a state of mind we can readily imagine after the variousshocks and surprises of this interview.

On returning to his hotel he found Jacques Bricheteau awaiting him.

"Where the devil have you been?" cried the organist, impatiently. "Itis too late now to take the steamboat."

"Well," said Sallenauve, carelessly, "then I shall have a few hourslonger to play truant."

"But during that time your enemies are tunnelling their mine."

"I don't care. In that cave called political life one has to be readyfor anything."

"I thought as much!" exclaimed Bricheteau. "You have been to seeLuigia; her success has turned your head, and the deputy is thinkingof his statues."

"How often have I heard you say yourself that Art alone is great?"

"But an orator," replied Bricheteau, "is also an artist, and thegreatest of all. Others speak to the heart and the mind, but he to theconscience and the will of others. At any rate, this is no time tolook back; you are engaged in a duel with your adversaries. Are you anhonest man, or a scoundrel who has stolen a name? There is thequestion which may, in consequence of your absence, be answeredagainst you in the Chamber."

"I begin to feel that you have led me into a mistaken path; I had inmy hands a treasure, and I have flung it away!"

"Happily," said the organist, "that's only an evening mist which thenight will dissipate. To-morrow you will remember the engagement youare under to your father, and the great future which is before you."

IX

IN THE CHAMBER

The king had opened the Chamber, but Sallenauve was not present, andhis absence was causing a certain sensation in the democratic ranks.The "National" was particularly disturbed. As a stockholder of thepaper, coming frequently to its office before the election, and evenconsenting to write articles for it, how strange that on the eve ofthe opening of the session the newly elected deputy should not comenear it!

"Now that he is elected," said some of the editorial staff, remarkingon the total disappearance of the man whom they considered they haddone their part to elect, "does monsieur think he can treat usscurvily? It is getting too much the habit of these lordly deputies tobe very obsequious as long as they are candidates, and throw us away,after they have climbed the tree, like an old coat."

Less excitable, the editor-in-chief calmed this first ebullition, butSallenauve's absence from the royal session seemed to him verystrange.

The next day, when the bureaus are constituted, presidents andsecretaries appointed, and committees named, Sallenauve's absence wasstill more marked. In the bureau for which his name was drawn, ithappened that the election of its president depended on one vote;through the absence of the deputy of Arcis, the ministry gained thatadvantage and the Opposition lost it. Much discontent was expressed bythe newspapers of the latter party; they did not, as yet, openlyattack the conduct of the defaulter, but they declared that they couldnot account for it.

Maxime de Trailles, on the other hand, fully prepared and on thewatch, was waiting only until the routine business of the bureaus andthe appointment of the committees was disposed of to send in thepetition of the Romilly peasant-woman, which had been carefully drawnup by Massol, under whose clever pen the facts he was employed to makethe most of assumed that degree of probability which barristerscontrive to communicate to their sayings and affirmations. But whenMaxime had the joy of seeing that Sallenauve's absence in itself wascreating a prejudice against him, he went again to Rastignac and askedhim if he did not think it better to hasten the moment of attack,since everything seemed so favorable.

This time Rastignac was much more explicit: Sallenauve's absenceabroad seemed to him the conduct of a man who feared exposure and hadlost his head. He therefore advised de Trailles to have the petitionsent in at once, and he made no difficulty about promising hisassistance to a conspiracy which appeared to be taking color, theresult of which must be, in any case, a very pretty scandal. The nextday the first trace of his subterranean influence was visible. Theorder of the day in the Chamber was the verification of powers,--thatis, the admission of newly elected members. The deputy appointed toreport on the elections in the department of the Aube was a strongpartisan of the ministry, and, in consequence of a confidentialcommunication made to him that morning, the following paragraphappeared in his report:--

The action of the electoral college of Arcis was regular. Monsieur de Sallenauve produced in proper time all the necessary papers proving his eligibility; his admission therefore would seem to present no difficulty. But rumors of a singular nature have been current since the election as to the name and identity of the new deputy; and, in support of these rumors, a petition to authorize a criminal prosecution has been laid before the president of the Chamber. This petition states an extremely serious fact, namely: that Monsieur de Sallenauve has usurped the name he bears; and this usurpation, being made by means of an official document, assumes the character of forgery committed by substitution of person. A most regrettable circumstance,

continued the report,

is the absence of Monsieur de Sallenauve, who instead of instantly contradicting the accusation made against him, has not appeared since the opening of the Chamber at any of its sessions, and it is not even known where he is. Under these circumstances, his admission, the committee think, cannot be granted; and they feel it therefore their duty to refer the matter to the Chamber.

Daniel d'Arthez, a deputy of the legitimist opposition, who had beenfavorable to the election of Sallenauve, hastened, after the readingof this report, to ask for the floor, and entreated the Chamber toremark that its adoption would be wholly unjustifiable.

"The point for the committee to decide," he said, "was the regularityof the election. The report distinctly states that this is not calledin question. The Chamber can, therefore, do only one thing; namely,admit by an immediate vote the validity of an election about which noirregularity is alleged. To bring in the question of authorizing acriminal investigation would be an abuse of power; because by notallowing discussion or defence, and by dispensing with the usual formsof procedure which guarantee certain rights to a party implicated, theChamber would be virtually rejecting the action of the electors in theexercise of their sovereign functions. Every one can see, moreover,"added the orator, "that to grant the right of criminal investigationin this connection is to prejudge the merits of the case; thepresumption of innocence, which is the right of every man, is ignored--whereas in this case the person concerned is a man whose integrityhas never been doubted, and who has just been openly honored by thesuffrages of his fellow citizens."

The discussion was prolonged for some time, the ministerial orators,of course, taking the other side, until an unfortunate event occurred.The senior deputy, acting as president (for the Chamber was not yetconstituted), was a worn-out old man, very absent-minded, and whollyunaccustomed to the functions which his age devolved upon him. He hadduly received Monsieur de Sallenauve's letter requesting leave ofabsence; and had he recollected to communicate it, as in duty bound,to the Chamber at the proper time, the discussion would probably havebeen nipped in the bud. But parliamentary matters are apt to gohaphazard; when, reminded of the letter by the discussion, he producedit, and when the Chamber learned that the request for leave of absencewas made for an indefinite period and for the vague purpose of "urgentaffairs," the effect was lamentable.

"It is plain," said all the ministerial party, "that he has gone toEngland to escape an investigation; he feared the result; he feelshimself unmasked."

This view, setting aside political prejudices, was shared by thesterner minds of all parties, who refused to conceive of a man nothastening to defend himself from such a blasting accusation. In short,after a very keen and able argument from the attorney-general, Vinet,who had taken heart on finding that the accused was likely to becondemned by default, the question of adjournment was put to the voteand passed, but by a very small majority; eight days being granted tothe said deputy to appear and defend himself.

The day after the vote was passed Maxime de Trailles wrote to MadameBeauvisage as follows:--

Madame,--The enemy received a severe check yesterday. In the opinion of my friend Rastignac, a very intelligent and experienced judge in parliamentary matters, Dorlange can never recover from the blow, no matter what may happen later. If we cannot succeed in producing positive proof to support the statement of our good peasant-woman, it is possible that this rascal, supposing always that he ventures to return to France, may be admitted to the Chamber. But if he is, he can only drag on a despised and miserable existence; he will be driven to resign, and then the election of Monsieur Beauvisage is beyond all doubt; for the electors, ashamed to have forsaken him for such a rascal, will be only too glad to reinstate themselves in public opinion by the choice of an honorable man--who was, in fact, their first choice.

It is to your rare sagacity, madame, that this result is due; for without that species of second sight which showed you the chances hidden in the revelation of that woman, we should have missed our best weapon. I must tell you though you may think this vanity, that neither Rastignac nor the attorney-general, in spite of their great political acumen, perceived the true value of your discovery; and I myself, if I had not had the good fortune of your acquaintance, and thus been enabled to judge of the great value of all ideas emanating from you, even I might have shared the indifference of the two statesmen to the admirable weapon which you have placed in our hands. I have now succeeded in proving to Rastignac the shrewdness and perspicacity you have shown in this matter, and he sincerely admires you for them. Therefore, madame, when I have the happiness of belonging to you by the tie we proposed, I shall not have to initiate you into politics, for you have already found your way there.

Nothing further can take place for a week, which is the period of delay granted by the Chamber. If the defaulter does not then appear, I am confident his election will be annulled. You can easily believe that between now and then all my efforts will be given to increase the feeling in the Chamber against him, both by arguments in the press and by private conversations. Rastignac has also given orders among the ministerial adherents to that effect. We may feel confident, therefore, that by the end of another week our enemy will find public opinion solidly against him.

Will you permit me, madame, to recall myself to the memory of Mademoiselle Cecile, and accept yourself, together with Monsieur Beauvisage, the assurance of my most respectful sentiments.

A hint from certain quarters given to the ministerial journals nowbegan to surround Sallenauve's name with an atmosphere of disrespectand ridicule; insulting insinuations colored his absence with anappearance of escaping the charges. The effect of these attacks wasall the greater because Sallenauve was very weakly defended by hispolitical co-religionists, which was scarcely surprising. Not knowinghow to explain his conduct, the Opposition papers were afraid tocommit themselves in favor of a man whose future was daily becomingmore nebulous.

On the evening before the day on which the time granted for anexplanation would expire, Sallenauve being still absent, a ministerialpaper published, under the heading of "A Lost Deputy," a very wittyand insolent article, which was read by every one and created a greatsensation. During that evening Madame de l'Estorade went to see Madamede Camps, whom she found alone with her husband. She was greatlyagitated, and said, as soon as she entered the room,--

"Have you read that infamous article?"

"No," replied Madame Octave, "but Monsieur de Camps was just tellingme about it. It is really shameful that the ministry should not onlycountenance, but instigate such villanies."

"No," said her husband, "I agree with madame; all the venom of thisaffair could have been destroyed by one action of de l'Estorade's, andin refusing to make it he is, if not the author, at least theaccomplice of this slander."

"Your wife has told you--" began Madame de l'Estorade in a reproachfultone.

"Yes," said Madame de Camps; "it was necessary to explain to myhusband the sort of madness that seemed to have taken possession of M.de l'Estorade; but what I said to him was not unfaithful to any secretthat concerned you personally."

"Ah! you are such a united pair," said Madame de l'Estorade, with aheavy sigh. "I don't regret that you have told all that to yourhusband; in fact, two heads are better than one to advise me in thecruel position in which I am placed."

"What has happened?" asked Madame de Camps.

"My husband is losing his head," replied the countess. "I don't see atrace of his old moral sense left in him. Far from understanding thathe is, as Monsieur de Camps said just now, the accomplice of theshameful attack which is going on, and that he has not, like those whostarted it, the excuse of ignorance, he actually seems to take delightin this wickedness. Just now he brought me that vile papertriumphantly, and I could scarcely prevent his being very angry withme for not agreeing with his opinion that it was infinitely witty andamusing."

"That letter of Monsieur Gaston's was a terrible shock to him," saidMadame de Camps,--"a shock not only to his heart but to his body."

"I admit that," said her husband; "but, hang it! a man is a man, andhe ought to take the words of a maniac for what they are worth."

"It is certainly very singular that Monsieur de Sallenauve does notreturn," said Madame Octave; "for that Joseph Bricheteau, to whom yougave his address, must have written to him."

"Oh!" cried the countess, "there's fatality in the whole thing.To-morrow the question of confirming the election or not comes up in